U.S. stock market indexes rose in Friday's early trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated four-tenths of a percent, the S&P 500 fell three-tenths of a percent, while the NASDAQ gained one-tenth of a percent.

European stock markets were higher in afternoon trading. London's Financial Times 100 index and the CAC-40 in Paris moved up four-tenths of a percent, and the DAX in Frankfurt jumped three-tenths of a percent.

Earlier in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index gained 1.2 percent , to close at 10,132. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 2.1 percent , to end at 22,445.

The price of gold rose nearly $13 to trade at $1,603.44 an ounce.

The dollar was higher against the yen and the euro.